Tie Dye 50K

April 23, 2011

This was a 50K trail race in John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs, Ohio– about a 45-minute drive for me.  $25 entry fee, a well-supported race, pink tie-dyed t-shirt, nice finisher’s glass – how can I say no? 

The heavy rains of the previous week had caused flash flood warnings to be issued along the intended river gorge route, so the course was changed to the back-up route:

2.1 mile hill loop to start the race 

Three repeats of 9.7-mile loop: 8-miles mountain bike trails and 1.7 miles of two steep climbs/descents to start/finish area  (Aid stations at 3.4 miles and 7 miles and 9.7 miles)

Storms came and went all night before the race, but at the 7am start it was dry (if very humid) and 62° (stayed in low 60’s all day) and it didn’t rain during my running time at all. 

This was a small race (74 starters), and a very friendly and casual crowd hanging around before the race, mostly talking about other races recently run or upcoming.  I was talking to one woman and said that I was planning to run Another Dam 50K on June 4.  “Oh yeah?” she said, “Which one?”  “Another Dam 50K,” I said.  (That's the name of the race.)  “Yes, I understand,” she said, “but which one?”    

Anyway, at 7am we were off, running down a very steep road and around a curve and into the woods.  After the first 2-mile hill loop, we started on the 8-miles of mountain bike trails.  That part was mostly level, which meant the water pooled in the middle of the trail, leaving several inches of mud and water/mud along much of that section.  My shoes were drenched and squelching by mile 3 and remained that way the rest of the race.  Here’s a shot (lifted from the site) from the day before – it wasn’t quite this wet the day of the race, but thick with slippery mud.

Then the last 1.7 miles of the loop was the steep descents/climbs/stone steps.  Lather, rinse, repeat 3 times.

There were logs to step, leap, or clamber over, streams to cross, even a couple chest-high logs to duck under.  Those were the hardest, btw.  Not so hard to lift my legs to get over a log, but crouching down to duck under one was darn near excruciating by the last loop.

Here’s another runner demonstrating this:

What I discovered is this:  running in level mud can be harder than running dry hills.  It was similar to running in snow in that all my leg muscles were constantly tensed up to stabilize me as I slipped and slid.  With each footfall my feet seemed to twist this way and that, torquing the muscles in my feet in a way that became painful early on, and hidden in the layer of mud and water there were often roots and rocks that I would slide into.  The arch of my right foot was very tender from hitting a few too hard.  Oddly, while there was no rain during the race, the third loop seemed even MORE muddy and wet than the first two times around.  All the footprints were filled with water, and the pools of water seemed bigger and more prevalent. 

Suffice to say, this was more of a workout than usual, and I was already very tired by mile 6.        By mile 9 my feet really hurt.  By mile 12, everything hurt.  By mile 15, I was wondering if I was going to finish the race.  I was not a happy camper.  That friggin’ mud was pissing me off. 

But, as I often find, it never really got any worse from there.  At mile 19, I was feeling more upbeat (that PB&J sandwich from the aid station was kicking in).  At mile 23, I felt better yet.  On a multi-loop course, the middle loop is always the toughest.  Once I start the last loop, I always feel an influx of energy and enthusiasm.  (I can do this!)

By mile 26, everything still hurt but I could feel the end drawing me in and I tried to pick up the pace.  I thought maybe I could still finish in under 7 hours if I worked at it, so I pressed on, walking when I had to through the worst of the muck, running as much as I could through the rest of the course.  And then, finally, I was racing down to the finish and oh what relief to be done!

Results were listed in simple fashion, no AG stats.

Finishing time:6:52:34

39/62 finishers (74 starters, 12 DNF’s)

9/18 women (tough crowd out there)

 Thanks for reading!

WOW!!!    Way to stick with it!!!

Very nice report...thank you...and great job!

I know, she looks great, doesn't she? And so clean for all that mud! Looks like they hosed you off before the finish line shot!

This is great, Holly. I love the way you tackle these tough races in the muck. Equinox won't be that hard for you, I promise.

Fantastic, Holly - you are a strong woman in all ways.  

Looks like they hosed you off before the finish line shot!

 

Oh no, if you saw the close-up, you'd see that my legs were spattered to my thighs with mud.  Of course, spashing right through the middle of the puddles kept the heavy-caking to a minimum...

 in John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs, Ohio

Wow Holly - that was quite run.  I don't know how you do it.  Give me the old dry asphalt any day.

I went to school in Cedarville.  John Bryant was our main get-a-way spot.  (I also worked at a grocery store in Yellow Springs.  I wonder if there are still any hippies around?)

...let's re-name that the ''TAA-DAA!!!!''...............great racing holly